It seemed that race day would never show up as I registered way back in Jan or Feb, so a Sept race is a long way off at that time. Sure enough by battling some injuries it then magically seemed to show up very quickly. My wife and I took off from Ottawa on Thursday after work and drove down to Woodstock, we were towing our pop-up trailer but choose to stay in a hotel for simplicity and to get more miles in that night. We arrived just past 10pm had a good sleep and took off for Hell, Michigan (yes the race was in Hell) around 10am the next morning. With the border, stopping for groceries etc we arrived in Hell around 3pm, so enough time to see the 100k/100m off, they started at 4pm. We got the trailer setup and got comfortable listening to the live bands playing at the "festival". A rough night sleep due to some neighbors who were not running so could afford to sit up drinking all night. A 4:50am alarm is really really early, as we had a 6am start time. It's nice camping on site as it was a 5min walk to the start line.
After some breakfast and bathroom duties I headed over to the start. There was maybe 300-350 people mulling about, turns out there were about 160 running the 50m and the rest in the 50k. The temp was cool maybe 13c in the morning, but a high forecast of 28c with high humidity throughout the day.
Starting a race at 6am in the dark into a trail I've never before seen was a new experience for me. We did a quick loop around the camp ground and headed into the woods and single track so it was a bit of a stampede at the beginning, but folks were friendly/respectful and all the good things you want in a race. What I noticed early was the sand, my God the trail was sand, not hard packed either. Because it was in the woods and the sun wasn't up yet you had to run with the headlamp on until approx 7:15am, and because of the dry sand it was getting really dusty as the light reflected back. Nothing serious but again something new, you could only see a few feet in front of your face. Once crowd split up it was much better, but for a good 40min it was tough to see.
For simplicity sake consider the course 4.5m out, a loop on the right side of the road, cross the road, and another loop on the left side, then return 4.5m to the start finish. Kinda like a big figure 8 on a stick. I was more complicated than that, but you get the idea.
The first loop went pretty well, its 26.67k X 3 to hit the 80k or 50m. I ran conservatively, walking the steeper hills, and running slowly the flats or downs. I wanted to finish the first loop in 3:00-3:25. Once the herd spread out I was able to make up a little ground as I do think I went out a bit too conservatively and was in the back 1/3 going through the woods. There is a stretch of approx 1.0m along a dirt road before you hit the loops, this is 3.5m into the first loop. I was able to get to a normal pace here and my legs began to warm up, so I was able to pass a number of folks. All was going well with no discomfort from either the ITBS or recent shin splints. It's here where you first see the 100m/100k who have been out there since 4pm the day before. I didn't respect the effort as much at Sulphur as the 100m had only been on the course 2hrs before I started, but a 14hr headstart shows you the strain and strength of some people.
Upon the return trip from loop one there had been a marathon, 1/2 marathon and 5mile race that started in the meantime so the trail got real busy. It was nice to have some of the energy of the other racers on the course. My wife coincidentally was running the 5mile and crewing for me in between, I bumped into her with about 2miles left in her race so we ran into the start finish together. It was a nice welcome conversation, and she got to experience the race and see the 100k/100m and 50m running which seemed to energize her as well. I finished loop 1 in 3:15 so right on schedule, slower than I'd normally run that distance, but I had a long way to go still. After crossing the start finish I had to change socks and empty the full sandy beach now collected in my shoes. My feet/toes were getting sore from the sand rubbing, I actually washed them off with water it had seeped through so badly. I had a quick bathroom break, changed my socks and emptied my shoes. I changed shirts to a singlet as well since that 13c was now nearly 22c already and the humidity was picking up. It took maybe 15-20min as I refilled my hydration pack and restocked on shotbloks as well. I headed out for loop 2 all ready, but with that unfortunate feeling the shin and knee were already getting angry due to the shifting sand under feet, and the upcoming distance. When you're at 30k and the injuries are piling up with 50k more to go it's hard not to get demoralized, but I kept to plan of keeping a smile on, saying hi to everyone and thanking the aid station workers. I was in the midst of a 2yr long dream how could I not be happy, injuries or not.
By about the 35k mark my right leg was on fire, the shin splint was really bothering me now, and since the trail is constant up/down for 2800' gain/loss each loop (according to garmin) they were talking a pounding. At this point the walking started to become more prominent. I was probably walking 50-60% of the time by now. It was during the figure 8 I made my one mistake, I didn't take the turn to go back, but crossed the road and repeated the two loops again. I didn't realize my mistake for a while, and because so much of the initial loop was in the dark I didn't recognize some areas anyway. As I watched the miles on the Garmin tick up I started to initially think the course was running long, after a bit I realized they either stretched loop 2 really long or I made a mistake. That's when the mountain bikers showed up. Turns out it's a public recreation area, and a mountain bike race was scheduled the same day unbeknownst to either group. They were coming against the running traffic, and coming fast. My guess would be 70+ mtn bikes went past over a 2hr period...it was miserable. Some of the bikers were friendly, and sympathetic and got out of the way, the others dressed in their funny biker garb near ran you over as they flew by. This was by far the worst part of this event...I will NEVER run a race knowingly shared with bikers, such as VASS, this experience showed me it's not only dangerous but very frustrating.
Back to the race, when you're shins hurt and ITBS hurt as much as mine did taking a wrong turn and extending a loop wasn't a good idea. I managed to get back on course and return to the start/finish for loop 2, but rather than being at 53k I was at 65k with the likely scenario of needing to do another 27k. My poor wife was standing at the top of the hill waiting to take my picture as I exited the woods to complete the lap, she'd been there for nearly 2hrs and was worried I'd gotten injured, I'm not sure who was more relieved to see each other. I quickly found the race director and explained what happened, it turns out I wasn't the only person to do that. Since I wasn't going to win anyway she was gracious and understood and suggested I complete the out/back but do not return into the 2 loops which I had already completed 3 times already. I therefore would cover the entire course, but not quite in the right order. THANK GOD!!! The 2nd loop of only 26.67k was actually 39k for me with the mistake, so I ran nearly a full marathon on the 2nd loop alone. With the walking and the extra distance that loop turned out to be 5:40...ouch!!!
I had now been out there for just about 9hrs and it was full on heat of the day.
I ran back to the trailer to change socks again and get an ever larger beach out of my shoes. I managed a 15min turn around counting the time to get to the trailer and out + 10min to find and talk to the RD about my excessive running. So I now had 1:39min to complete 15k and reach my goal which was 10:59:59 (sub 11hrs). Funny how that seemed like such a reachable goal at the time. I committed the cardinal sin and took an Ephedrin to try and easy the knee/shin pain a bit, and my wife did exactly as I'd asked her...unless there's a bone protruding or I can't speak in full sentences send me back out I am finishing!!! So she kicked my butt out the door and told me we didn't drive all this way for me to give up on my goal.
On the last 15k I took off pretty hard, I was running 5:40ks up until about 71k...I was impressed with myself, sore shins/knee and at 70k into a race I was running what felt like very fast, but that did me in. I hit some knarly hills around 71k and pushed up them, by the time I reached the top my heart rate was much too high and the legs were revolting. I was moved to a slow walk after that. When I realized I wouldn't hit the 10:59:59 mark and was going to break 11hrs I figured OK don't kill yourself walk and run at a pace that's comfortable, talk to the other runners and aid station and just enjoy what's left. I finished in 11:21:38 and hence my first 50miler is under my belt. I finished 60 out of 101 finishers with 59 drops or no shows.
For a guy who never before ran more then a 1/2 marathon going into 2013, running 30k @ ATB, the 50k @ Sulphur and now the 50m at Woodstock I've had a great year. I once again give a tonne of credit to Strider for his consistent guidance and encouragement, seeing the effort and commitment he puts into his running can only do two things, scare you the death, or inspire you to try and mimic him...fortunately he didn't scare me.
I also had the enjoyment of meeting and running with alot of great people, my long lost cousin MikeM (we didn't know either other until RM and turns out his grandmother and my dad were 1st cousins). NMG who seems to enjoy running more than anyone I've ever known, orleansrunner who is tough as nails, and many others on RM who I only know through the forums but offer advice and encouragement that somedays is needed.At the end my wife and I grabbed our lawn chairs, a few beer, some snacks and sat on the hill to watch the bands play, and cheer in the other runners. It was quite enjoyable. There were still some 100m/100k runners coming in at 9:30-10pm that night, they’d been out there for near 30hrs…holy *&&%($.
Other thoughts:
I looked for CBaker and WestGreyRunner but didn’t find them, but I think the 3pm arrival with the 4pm start for the 100m was the cause. After the race I was in no shape to go searching out people. Sorry I missed the chance to meet you guys.
If you take away my pit stops my moving time according to Garmin is 10:28 so I'm happy with that considering the climbing/declining, injuries and the sand. In hind sight I wish I'd not spent so much time at the trailer, and had not made the wrong turn as it would have saved me probably 40min, but then again perhaps it was those breaks that let me actually finish the race.
I stuck to my nutrition plan quite religiously. 3 chugs on the hydration bladder ever 1k, 1 shotblok ever 30min, and 1 S-Cap! every hr. I then ate a sandwich, chips, watermelon etc and drank a glass of water and Gatorade at each aid station which were 7k apart. This has to be improved, I didn't pee the entire run, and I did drink approx 6 litres of fluids. It took me hrs after the run with 1.5 litres of water and 2 beer before I had to use the washroom, and even then it wasn't comfortable so I was excessively dehydrated. I was basing my drinks on distance rather than time, its a bad idea. As the distance got slower my drinks were further apart. I also noted at the 75k mark my hands were quite swollen. My watch was much too tight, and my wedding band was cutting into my finger. With the 28c heat and high humidity (someone told me 35 with the humidex) I wasn't processing the water well enough, or was losing too much salt and not replacing it quickly enough with S-Caps! I perhaps needed an extra S-Cap! every 2hrs so take 3 rather than 2 in a 2hr period.
Because the shin splints had been there so long both my shins were quite swollen with large lumps the size of a roll of electrical tape. I was worried I did something stupid and caused a stress fracture, but alas I didn't. There's still a bit sore today, but I ran the Terry Fox 10k yesterday and it was OK. I really didn’t want to run yet, but I figure if Terry Fox can do what he did with cancer and on one leg, I can run a simple 10k on sore legs and not complain about being sore. That and I haven’t missed a Terry Fox run for maybe 20yrs now, and never plan on missing one. If you need a true hero in running and life we have the best right here from Canada.
The race itself was fantastic, well organized (despite the mtn bike fiasco) excellent music, aid station volunteers who fell over themselves to help you, all in all very well ran. Will I go back? No, but not because the event wasn't worth it, the 10hr drive was just too long. We did stay until Tuesday in Michigan then went to Peele Island until Friday to extend a vacation.
What’s next? Flexibility/strength training and figuring out why the shin splints/ITBS are so bad. I'm also planning on pacing a certain RM'er once he gets his WSER invite this year, and I'd like to do another 50m or 100k next summer. I see the Vermont 100m has a 100k event the same day, hilly as heck, but I'd have 24hrs to complete it, and I like Vermont. Sulphur would be ideal but like this year it bumps up against our Finance Conference which I'm always a presenter at and that won't change so it will be out for 2014. Maybe I'll run the NCR marathon as a long training run. The other idea is Halliburton I hear great things about that race. Either way all this race did was whet my appetite for more more more!!!
